The Hope Hotline - Happy Birthday Vanessa | Pillar of Salt?

Episode Date: October 8, 2025

The Hope Hotline | S03-E67 | 10-08-2025

Real talk. Real talk. Real talk. Real talk. Real talk. Real talk. Hello and welcome to the Hope Hotline. Thank you for joining us on Wednesday.

Last week was a very quiet week. Yes, very quiet. I'm not going to lie to you. I got a lot of stuff done. I love that. It threw my whole week off. It did? Oh, I'm sorry, guys.

I'm like, what day is it today? I'm saying. Throw me off. But I was like... But you got stuff done. It was like a speed racer. I love that. Well, the thing is, is like, this takes a while to prep.

it does yeah so like I used all that prep time right right you had more capacity last week now Friday we're not going to be here again yep yep no podcast on Friday mark your calendars yes yes but then we'll be back in action after that yes we'll be full steam ahead yes yes full steam ahead and today is somebody's birthday? Yeah. It's Vanessa. Oh, I'm going to turn it this way. Oh, okay, I'm coming back. Hold on. I'm coming back. There's the candle. There's be 40 on there. Do you see that? I know. I wasn't going to do that. I did. I did. Hold on. You did? I did. I didn't know if she wanted everybody now. It's a very special birthday. It's a huge birthday. I'm entering a whole other decade. She is like prepared for what's to come. Literally. I'm psyched. She's going to start taking her vitamins.

Yes. This girl takes her vitamins. She eats an appropriate amount of protein. She drinks her water. Yeah. That's what I'm entering. You go, girl. You go, girl.

Those are our goals. You go, girl. You don't look 40. Thank you. Not at all. Thank you. Do you know we're almost 20 years apart? I don't believe it.

No way. There's no way. Yeah. I'll be 59 in next year. It may, I'll be 59. That means we're almost 20 years. apart. That's wild. That is wild. Time is crazy.

Look what I did to her last night. Aw. Look at those candles. Oh, dear Lord's a mercy. Powering inferno. Thanks. I know. It's so cute. Look at all those candles, guys. She just kept adding candles. I'm like, you're so rude. But it was also the truth.

And that hurts sometimes. I ain't going to lie to you. It is what it is. We are very transparent here. Truth hurts sometimes. There was so much heat rating on. Oh, I bet. Look at that. She had to make really. had to put really long ones in there just so she had time to. I know. Yes, exactly, because they just started melting down. I lost breath. You did. I know. I got a four and a zero, but no, no. What did

your shirt say? Oh, what would Jesus do? That's what I thought. W.J.D. Always. Always. That's still going strong. It is. I think it's having like a moment right now. Yeah, it's cycled back around. It did. Yeah. Oh, my gosh. Yeah. Yeah. It's. Yeah. It's. It's like everything. Everything just comes right back around. It's the Charlie Kirk effect. It could be, yeah. Could be.

Like the bracelets. Are they bad? Oh, yeah. The kids are wearing them. Oh. Sorry. Yeah, they can see it. Yeah, the whole time.

It can go right behind her. And I'll just float. It's not good enough. That's why I'm like, she has to have it noticeable that she's. I know. I like it. You can probably hook it into the hole. Yeah.

Jeff got me the best gift this year. What did he get you? It's a wearable blanket with the most luxurious fabric goes all the way to my ankles. It has a huge snack pocket in the front. I come up on one of those hot chitos. It was wearing it last night. It was, it is divine. I will say, I have.

He even embroidered it. It says trophy wife. Aw. That's sweet. This is it. Oh, my gosh. Oh, my gosh. That's it.

That's it. That's it. It's even got the eye so you can cover your eyes, you know? I might need that. But it was. It's very soft. Oh, it's like the most soft. You're never going to wash it because as soon as you start washing them.

it goes i know don't watch it ever that's it i don't know what it smells like oh my gosh it's crazy probably be good luck all right somebody's got to like this candle okay um it's right here no no no i got it right here this is not your birthday Vanessa it's right everything's right here come here you can hide your little body oh okay talia oh do it Got it. You got it. What? That was beautiful. And then there's her card. You can handle her card and take that. Oh. No, she's going to blow it out over there. Do it while she can't see you. Uh-uh. I'll get it. Okay. All right. I only one. You can get this one. I believe you can do it this time.

Okay. All right. You got to sing happy birthday. Okay, go ahead, Talia. You ready? Talia. Norma started. That was so beautiful. Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday to you.

Happy birthday, dear Vanessa. Happy birthday to me. Yeah. There you go. Here's plates. And there's plates and napkins for the cupcakes. Oh, it says Banny from the block. Oh, Vanny from the Block.

Hey, girl. That's right, girl. That's right. Yeah. Okay, thank you. Pass it along. Yep. Take one.

Thank you. Don't pick the one I want. Oh, my gosh. That's the one I want. I'm just kidding. Here. Do you want a plate? Just in case.

Here. So we don't make, we don't make crumbs. I want this one. Sorry. Oh, I got the, I got the, candle happy birthday tell you that's right okay you want a plate i've got one thank you do you want a plate in there uh-uh you can have it beer cupcake great sounds good all right let's do our thing girl let's get her going

here we go okay first and foremost please like share comment on facebook if you're there Kristen Bin says Happy birthday Vanessa on Facebook And we're on And mom Babski says happy Happy birthday Vanessa on Rumble And Amory also is here from New York

And she's saying happy birthday too Happy birthday And that's all I see for right this second So So if you are on Facebook Like share a comment And then you can hop over And come over to Rumble

And if you are already in Rumble Make sure that you like and repost for us watch with us super simple just get that reposted and then if you are on YouTube but that is great you could also make sure that you subscribe to our channel so that you'll know when we're going live got a few viewers on there hey guys in the YouTube chat to say hello so we know who you are and then obviously black robe is always available audio podcast will be available later today I have to update this because TikTok live is not happening because we do not want to get banned because that happens so unfortunately we're at the mercy of

of the viewership and the AI. So we're just going to pause on that for right this second. However, there are plenty of options to watch us. So head over to any other platform. If you have your questions, please send them in. We've got some good ones for today. So I'm excited to get to those. But if you have a question, send it in.

Ask Hope at HopeHophotline.com. We have an updated date for Natalie. So please send those questions in as well. She will be here at the end of the month, the last Friday of the month, October 31st. Ooh, scary. Spooky. So if you got a spooky medical question, please send it in. But I already have a set in a couple of tour.

And Vanessa has one, too. And you are not going to want to miss this because either, oh, hey, Natalie. She's a happy birthday as well in the Rumble chat. Natalie, Vanessa has a very, very serious question. One that she's contemplating. I'm just joking. But it's a trend. And so it's really weird.

So please come back Friday, October 31st to hear all about who knows, what, honestly, you just never know. Obviously, we're on Instagram, and we have our foundation churchFL.com. We've got our merch available for you guys. A reminder again that there is no podcast on Friday, but we will be back on Wednesday. Happy birthday, Vanessa, our little slide that I only got to show for a second, so I'm showing it again. And we are on TikTok still, so hope has hers. She is just, I'm telling you, these people, you Jen Xers, love that name that tune. So we are If you want to play along, you definitely want to follow Hope and check her out on TikTok. We do name that tune for songs.

We do it for sitcoms and TV shows and movies and soundtracks and all that stuff. So it's really fun. We get a lot of pushback because we don't always share the right or wrong answer. We never share the right answer. So sometimes people get mad at us. But you know what? Usually somebody in the comments knows. So it's not like we're completely leaving them in the dark.

It's fun and games, people. It's fun and games. games. Just have some fun. Have some fun. So we are. And then Pastor Tom is on TikTok as well. So he's got his preaching TikTok and then he's got his TLP clips. So if you are watching his podcast or if you missed one and you kind of want to see a little recap or some fun moments that they, fun or serious or crazy or whatever moments on the Rumble TLP, they have their cute little, what's it called? Shorts. There it is. Shorts. Yeah. There you go. the shorts and then um we have the same thing happening on his preaching as well so we also have the foundation worship on there as well and people are loving the songs so that is really fun and um you'll want to follow us over there show us some love um like and share and repost and do all the things that you can for us to get our worship team out there and other people can enjoy it like we do every Sunday. We've got all of our little TikTokers on this page. And then we've also, where did

mine go? Let me see if I didn't pull it down. Oh, there it is. We've got these guys. And we've got the Hope Hotline and Vanessa and me and Talia as well. And I think I got through everything very quickly today. So if you're on TikTok, those are all the options. Oh, and we do have this one for today at some point if you want to. I do want to do that. Okay. Do you want to do that later for the other ones? No, we're going to do that now. Perfect. Okay, well, that's all of the fun stuff for us.

And then we've got this little clip that Hope's going to speak to. So our girlfriend, Tracy, she has a wonderful, and all of us go to her. Wonderful. Like, if you love facials, is it a derma plane and all that other, is that consider a facial? I know permanent makeup isn't. It's something that you can add on to a facial. That's where you shave the peach fuzz off your face. I've done that.

Well, she's done that. But she does more than just facial stuff. She does the brow tenting, which is, she does mine. Has she ever done yours, Vanessa? She has. You don't have to, like, get tattoos or whatever. You can get everything, like, kind of like a... I never did it.

Jolene was the one that was like, you should do that. and I was like, I don't know. Wait, what did I agree to? Where she colors your eyebrows? Oh, she's tinted my eyebrows. Yeah, tinted. I never did it up until like last year, and that's because Jolene. Jolene wanted to do it.

I was like, I'm not up for that. And then Tracy kind of sneakily. She'll do it while you're like doing your facial. I'm sure Jolene talked to her and said, do it. Do it to her. She needs it. I love it now. Like I don't think I could go back to.

like my eyebrows are kind of light so now they day one is always scary right well i'm going to just tell you that one day that you got yours tinted i got them tinted and laminated that's why that's true okay i think it was the lamination that freaked you out you look like but tracy didn't do that it was someone else thank you jesus so because but they were laminated they were laminated they were what you wanted. Sorry. Somebody important just texted me. She's done my eyebrows too, but mine were,

yeah, what is it? I don't know what the, but listen. Microneedling? I don't know. That's not microneedling. Microblading. Yes, microblading. Microblading.

That one time with Vanessa and then Courtney got it right after. I stood outside this church and I laughed and I laughed and I laughed and I laughed and I laughed and I literally had to walk away laughing to stop because they both look like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. I almost sweat my pants because both of them, their eyebrows looked angry, my friends. Angry. Angry. It was. They looked very angry. Yeah. It was definitely an angry. I mean, they looked like they had permanent mad face. Uh-huh. While they're smiling. Yeah. I'll try anything once. It looked like, it looked like angry birds, you know, angry birds, eyebrows. Yeah, 100%.

Listen, I will try anything once. I'm not afraid to try things. We know this. We know this. I think you should have a little bit more fear. To be honest with you. More self-control. A little bit. But I will say this.

Like, if you've never had a facial before, wowsers, I never had until last year. Yeah. And it was the best thing I have ever done for myself. As far as for, like, skin health and everything else, it's amazing. But let me just tell you. it um let me let's give you our little blurb experience relaxation and customized care at radiant aesthetics and permanent makeup with over 20 years experience online booking available and radiant you dot glass genus.com is where you can go and set up an appointment or you can call her at nine

four one six two three five seven six two you will not be disappointed you will feel like a million bucks man she's got this bed that's hot and you fall asleep heaven literally heaven in a bed I wish I had that thing. It's like a big, huge heating pad for your whole body. It is so comfy. It is relaxation, as Doug Heffernan would say. I like that. Yes, Pastor Rodney is texting me like crazy.

Do you hear that? I don't even know what he's doing. He is texting one right after another. Pastor Rodney. Like, what is he doing? Probably just messes you. I kid you not. There's like 15, he's just, boom, boom, boom, boom, I don't know what the man is doing.

Uh-oh. Uh-oh. It's not bad. Okay, good. I just don't know what he's saying, but it's okay. Whatever. Okay, let us do the first question. Let me just say this before we do this.

Vanessa, yes. Listen, girl. I'm scared. You are one of a kind. And I mean that in the sweetest, most positive way possible. Thank you. As I wrote in the card, and I'm not kidding you, you are such a blessing, and you truly are. Like, God broke the mold.

Like, you can pretty much say anything to you, and for the most part, hardly ever do you allow your feelings to get hurt. You know, like how profound that is. And even those times where you kind of get into your feels, which has maybe happened twice or three times and the whole time I've known you, like you got over it so fast but then you're kind of like let me evaluate what did that mean what did that mean like what i thought it mean like most people just stick to it you know what i'm saying and you're like maybe they didn't mean it like that or you know that's what i normally think like yeah yeah is this me or and then i'm always like yeah even if it is me whatever who cares like that's not normal in people normally people just they get offended and they stick to it

And they don't ever get out beyond themselves. And you just don't take yourself too seriously, which is a beautiful thing. But second of all, you're just like, there's no agenda. Amen. You are a rare, rare, rare person. And not only is Foundation Church blessed that you have chosen this place to lead and do ministry because you've affected many, many women's lives, I will honestly say you have affected mine, and the better.

And for that, I love you very, very much. Because I remember, man, when you first came to the church, I don't ever, like, I'm never, like, where I'm like, hardly ever. But I remember when you first got there, I was not in a good place. I never wanted to quit. But I was like, oh, my gosh. We were in a, what do you call that? not uh we're just in a dry place because there was a lot of underlying stuff going on behind our

back and it was all coming to fruition at that time and we had no idea for the most part at that time how bad it was we had no idea and i just remember you guys walking in you were beaten battered i was in the midst of being battered being beaten battered and it was so nice to have somebody who kind of knew where you were at because ministry is sometimes tough so for me like I just remember feeling like oh a compadre literally this is good I'm not alone right now thank you jesus and you like have just stuck stuck thick and thin right next to me and tom and I'm not going anywhere yeah well and I know I know but like you guys have been faithful faithful friends and i am very blessed like what how many years is it uh jeff was saying i was about

to say 13 jeff said it on sunday but 12 years is a long time to like to stick to a vision together that's you know you got to believe in the vision and even sometimes like me and tom are like is this really because you got like really walk by faith right like sometimes like even COVID even though as strong as it was for us and being very trusted like head down you know at sometimes you're just like holy you know holy you know holy yeah so I don't know that's faithful friend and I love you for it I'm not kidding when I say it's it's yeah it's not just everybody else it's me too that you've had a good you rubbed off good things so god bless thank you you got it i love you very very much i'm gonna go

and cry now don't you cry don't you cry girl you know what's really cool is i know that vanessa's love language is words of affirmation yeah like receiving words so yesterday at abide what you just did every single one of the women there did that for her and shared something that impacted her life or when they first met her and why they are where they are today and it was just really cool and then sure enough i get on social media and her best friend from new york literally did the exact same thing i'm like it's and it's just and then here all the stuff everybody says and it's so consistent like her character across every single person is consistent yeah it really is it is a very rare thing you know what i find what i find profound and i think a lot of people can

take from this and they should take from it is when you can and I'm speaking of you Vanessa when I say this but when you can have such an impact on people's lives from the very young and be open enough to listen and counsel and correct from the very young and to like two older people more mature adults my age and up and you can be somebody that's an influence even to that degree for mature you're you're doing something you really are you're doing something true and all of us every single last one of us we need to evaluate are we having that kind of impact yeah from that vast of an age we should be available to anyone and everyone that comes across our path.

And for a female, it really should be more towards the females, okay? I'm not telling you to, like, if you're a woman, to minister to men. I'm not telling you that. Can you imagine? Yeah. A lot of people, a lot of women are like, I'm in. I'll be a cougar. Oh my gosh.

But really, we need to like really evaluate. Are we having that kind of effect in ministry across the board? across the board and you really can it's never it's not always been this to this wide of a span for you um like that 12 years in takes a lot of time for gaining people's trust and and assurance and loyalty and barrier breaking down walls and things like that i mean you've got to like invest and a lot of times what happens is people bounce and bounce and bounce and they I wonder, why am I not doing anything for the kingdom? Well, because you're bouncing.

There's no stability. And what is the word of God tells us to be stable in all of our ways? I've known people that are some of the most talented people. We had someone on our worship team that was unbelievably talented. I know exactly who you're talking about. Unbelievably talented. And one of the things I remember sitting down with dinner with them, Tom and I I sat down with dinner and they're like, why is nothing happening for me? And it's because

and we, we're like, we're going to tell you the truth, but I hope it doesn't offend. And this is an incredible human being, still to this day, an incredible human being. I'm like, you don't put any roots in the ground. You never stay anywhere. And as soon as God can use you, you up and go, because things just don't move as fast as you want them to. Nothing worth, anything takes happens overnight nothing worth anything you got to allow things to grow you got to allow things to take root and and precious time is precious it really is so you need to appreciate it but a lot of people if it's not instant they're like this must not be it that's not true yeah that is not true and guess what nothing has still happened for this person

and their talent that God has blessed them with is not being used to the near to the capacity that it should be. I feel like there is a sermon in that. There probably is. There probably is. It probably has been preached plenty. But that is true.

There is a sermon in that girl. But be effective. Be effective to everybody. If you can look at yourself and say, you know what? There's a seed time and harvest. Absolutely. First the something, then the ear, then the corn in the ear.

First the seed, then the ear, then the corn in the ear. You got to stick around long enough to see that corn. Otherwise, really, what's the point? Yeah. I mean, what is it all about if that's not what it's all about? And the thing is, it's like the podcast. Tom's podcast, like he has a powerful ministry because of the church. But I will tell you, before he was pastoring, he was usher, then he was board member.

He was choir, person, singer, whatever. Then he went to doing worship leading. Then he went to youth pastoring. Your gross and your influence will grow with time and investment. Like I said, you didn't start out like that. It has grown over time and investment. So if you're not doing that, people, you're doing something wrong. True.

You are doing something wrong because every year you should have a bigger sphere of influence, spiritually speaking and if you do not it ain't right you're wasting time and you're and you're losing ground because there are people that you should be having a powerful effect on so um that's a word right that's a word but i'm super proud of you super proud of you so if you ever need somebody to and i'm i'm big on looking at people and saying i want what they have or what did they do to get there So if that's what they did It doesn't mean I have to do exactly what they did But that path should look very similar

I have them in my life I have people that I look at And I'm like I want to be where they are And they're older than me And some of them really ain't that much older than me But I sit there and go That's where I want to be That's where I'm headed

And everybody should have that in their life So that they have a goal Without Oh my gosh without vision the people perish is what the word says oh my gosh okay guys this talya i'm not allowed it's going to be i'm going to turn it down tellia found the video of me laughing at finessa and courtney talia's mothers eyebrows weren't you both together that night i think you're that's why i was dying there i'm literally there okay let it roll

She's so mean I'm Courtney Put this one up higher I'm angry Shut up I do not look like Why did it's up? That's it That's all we got

There was one where I am laughing so hard I don't know Okay we'll keep looking Put it in Dropbox on you'll find it But you can't see Vanessa's eyes Oh, I found it. But you hear the problem is, is Courtney's eyebrows actually look good there. But if you saw them in person, I'm telling you.

They did look good there. They were bold. They were bold. So was Vanessa's. Both of them like were. I was like, why did you do that? And Vanessa's is like, it's the trend. It is the trend.

It's the trend. I'm like, you can have that trend. She's like it'll fade. Okay. Let's go to the first question. And then if you've, if you. find it then that's great but otherwise i think it's who cares right yeah all you're gonna see is me laughing okay okay first question is why did lots wife turn into a pillar of salt and what's the

significance of salt there you know i never ever thought about why was it salt that she turned into do you know i never thought about this until i started researching this but But Sodom and Gomorrah are right next to the Dead Sea. Did you know that? No, I did not. What's the Dead Sea full of? Yes, salt. Interesting.

Isn't that interesting? But that's not, I don't think that's why. But the Dead Sea, the Dead Sea, because it's right next to Sodom and Gamora, there are this is a teaching i would love to teach and i'm only going to briefly say this but the dead sea is where it is thought to believe that that's the entrance into hell yes there are many many reasons and they are if there have been times around the dead sea that there's been flames of fire that they've been able to see uh it's the lowest point has the lowest depth that um like like there are so many when you do the research on it

are you looking at right now Vanessa no I know but I oh I thought you were like what this is a rabbit hole I'm going to go down literally I was just thinking the same thing like I this like if there's going to be a rabbit hole this is the one I want to be in it too it's crazy about the dead sea I can send you the stuff okay please do it it's soon i'll already send you the research because the research is already been done by a very reliable source it's a very very reliable source like not some conspiracy theorists reliable source actually what even if it wasn't it's something like it sits really well i don't know it's crazy i was like yep it's crazy how um but i thought to myself well if she's that might make

sense because Sodom and Gomorrah is right near the dead sea what was thought to be Sodom and Gomorrah is right next to the Dead Sea which is salt in her being turned into a pillar of salt well that's kind of makes sense you know what did you ever see where they think that they found her and they still yeah I do remember that now you just said yes I feel like what did you say Norma okay Norma said she saw it on TikTok before you she then it's creepy she said. Preserved. Like a person preserved.

Isn't that weird? Isn't that weird? So, let's look at the scripture really quick. And then you guys can add your two cents in or whatever you want to do. When they were safely out of the city, one of the angels ordered,

run for your lives and don't look back or stop anywhere in the valley. Okay, very significant instructions in life. the Bible full of instructions for us to protect us? Okay. So an angel literally says run for your life and don't look back or stop anywhere

in the valley. Escape to the mountains or you will be swept away. But Lot's wife looked back as she was following behind him and she turned into a pillar of salt. First of all, you know what I find interesting too is in the Bible. Women are called pillars.

And with some scripture, we are called actual the pillars of like the household. Isn't that weird that she turned into a pillar of salt? Which is like a statue. But a pillar holds things up, which that's our job. Our job is to help hold the family up and be that support to a pillar is a support to the home, but mainly to our spouse.

How awesome is that? Like, we have so much, God has given us so much opportunity to, like, really make a profound effect on our home through helping and working with our families, with our husbands specifically. I think, man, what an opportunity to know. like he has to ultimately answer to God for everything but based on based on how we perform in that role can propel that man to be so successful and to help make such great outstanding decisions like true how how great is that true very true very true I just think man like God really entrusted us with a lot. Yeah. I mean, I know the husband is ultimately the one that answers to him,

and we will too to a certain extent, but like a lot is, we have a great opportunity to be, to be a successful household through us. I don't know. It's crazy. But she turns into this pillar of salt. And the thing is, is what I think is so this is where a great learning lesson is, is a lot of times with the Lord, the Lord tells us, leave everything, repent means to turn 180 degrees and go the opposite direction than you were headed.

And so often we are just like her, and we turn around and we look at what we're leaving behind and wonder if we should or shouldn't, which is a distraction. And a lot of times by turning around, we ruin, and we go back to that old lifestyle thinking we're giving up something instead of really what we're gaining, which Lott's wife was stupid because, first of all, she was warned.

Most of us, when we get our lives right with the Lord, we don't even know what that means unless somebody helps us. I mean, we listen to the Holy Spirit, but the Holy Spirit doesn't send an angel down and says, don't look back, just keep moving forward, go in that direction. Okay, that's not. it and so she was warned and even with that warning she looked back because she was still that that hellacious place still had a hold on her to some degree that she was worried or concerned

or drawn to that place that evil wicked place and we are too think about it how many times have you thought about, man, I remember when. Was that really that bad? That was a lot of fun. Yeah. Was it really a lot of fun? Right. I mean, maybe momentarily, but did you reap anything good from it?

No. And if you start looking back, there's nothing good that comes from that. That's only looking forward to what God has for you. That's where the good comes. But we're so drawn. We're so drawn to the old things. And that's why the parable of the sewer in Matthew, it talks about life's cares will take us back, you know?

Whatever is sown, it doesn't get sown in the ground that. See, doesn't get sown very much because life's cares take us away. That's one of just the seeds. And then one of them is, is it didn't even really bury itself. Like, it got taken away by the birds. So don't be like Lott's wife. That's all I'm telling you. True.

But that's not what you asked. It's not what you were asking about. So let's keep going. That's right. Basically, obedience is everything. It's the key to everything. And sometimes it's so big. It's a matter of life and death.

Because like I was saying, with her, it was death. But like a lot of us, we are just like her and we look back. When I got my life back with God, I literally did what she did. I left where I was living and moved to a whole other state because I knew that if I stayed in that place, I was not going to stay saved. I was not going to give my life to the Lord. In fact, when I moved down to Florida is actually when I really solidified my walk with God. When I was living in D.C., I thought I had gotten saved, but I was still doing the old stuff still. And I was like, this ain't going to work.

Like, I got to get out of here. And it wasn't until I moved down here and at Venice Assembly of God. It was called Venice Assembly of God. That's where I said the sinner's prayer all over again and got my life right. But up to that point, I knew there was no way I was going to stay saved. And so the thing is, is I never look back. I never called. I never wanted to hang out with the old friends.

I literally cut everything and everybody off. Was that easy? No, it was not. It was a matter of life and death. it was rather it was a matter of eternity in heaven or temptation to return to a lifestyle that would leave straight to hell do any of you guys understand what i'm saying right now absolutely i do yep and a lot of times people don't want to do what it takes most times yep it's that radical it is it is that radical if she would have been radical she'd be alive and her and lots

daughters went had sex with him and had kids out of wedlock Oh yeah, that whole story is like crazy in itself. Yeah, like they wouldn't have been ancestral. Because of her disobedience though. Literally. Because of her disobedience, it led to many things. And people forget about that. A chain reaction.

The ripple effect, yep. Which is crazy. It is. Sure is. But nobody ever thinks about that. They don't think about like, wow, that is true. If she hadn't looked back, she'd still be married a lot. Lot would have been alive and her daughters would have never done that.

Nope, they surely would not have because she would have been allowed it. Right. Yep. Mommy don't play. Yep. You guys want to add anything? So I looked it up and I did the word by word breakdown in the Hebrew. And so when it says she looked intently, that meant to gaze regard, consider with attention.

So it wasn't just like she did a quick glaze, like look. back, but it says that there is possibly that she gazed longingly with either desire or regret. That's what I was thinking. She long, that's the word I think of she longingly looked back. And that's meaning there's an endearment to whatever that is. Right. Yeah. Right. How could you be endeared to that? That's, I know. But we are. But go ahead with that. That's good stuff right there. Yeah. And it was just like her heart was obviously divided. And your heart can't be divided between the old and the new. And so when God calls you into something new, you really like

looking back, because it is easy to remember the good stuff of the old days and forget the bad stuff. I think it's like a way for us to like heal and cope. Yep, exactly. And so, but when you know God has called you into something new and you know that the old, there was definitely, there's a reason why you wanted to go into something new. Looking back, it just, it's wasteful. It's wasteful to what God wants to do and um yeah and then fortunately this was very serious and there was a major ripple effect like you just said yeah you know I don't think that she even comprehended what would happen to her it's like an Ananias and that's afira exactly what I was just thinking like they did not understand that their lie was going to take their life right and a lot of times people are the same way

they don't understand just doing that because they're like what's the big deal yeah it's a big deal yeah it's a big deal because you don't know where this one thing is going to lead to another like for example what's the big deal if I go and hang out with my friends tonight at the bar

I'm not going to really drink I'll have one then your one turns to two your two turns to three because you're like I never do this like it's one night and either on the way home you get a DUI

or you get in a car accident and change your life for someone's forever. It's that big of a deal. You don't think one thing can do anything. One thing can do a lot. Forward thinking is what I always say. Do forward thinking. If people would do that, before I do this, what is the possibility of the outcomes that could happen by me doing this? If you did it in almost everything you do, and I'm not talking about over analyzing everything that you do, are praying about everything that you do. Okay, there becomes a point where you're so spiritually minded, you're no earthly good.

I don't know if you guys have ever heard of that. But I need to pray about this and I need to pray about that. Sometimes you just don't need to pray about it. In your gut, you have the Holy Spirit. Do you feel a peace about it or do you not feel a peace about it? You know when you're going, I'm going to go out with my friends and I'm going to go to the bar and I'll just have one drink. You know whether you have peace about that or not.

You don't need to pray about it. True. No prayer is needed. Should I go to McDonald's or Burger King? No prayer is needed. Pick one. I mean. Literally.

But that's where we get. But I'm just saying to you that you think that this is just one thing. That one thing, if you don't think wisely on that one thing, being spiritually minded about that one thing, it could lead you down a very dark, deep, nasty path. Yeah. John 1415 says, If you love me, obey my commandments. Now, that wasn't available to her at the time.

But it is available to us. So I would think heavily on that. If you love him, if you love the Lord, then you will obey his commandments. Those who love me obey my commandments. So if you don't obey his commandments, what does that mean? What do you think that means? means. Think about that. If you don't do what he tells you in his commandments, what do you

think that means? You can't serve two masters of what it says. You'll love the one and you hate the other. So if you do not, obey his commandments and you love him if you do, what does that, what's the opposite of that? You don't like him. I mean, it's not complicated here. It's very simple. The gospel's very simple. We choose to make it complicated because the more complicated we mean make it the more gray it becomes it ain't gray a lot of places it's black and white it's very very simple john 14 21 through 23 and this is the new king james version says he who he who has my commandments and keeps them it is he who loves me and he who loves me will be loved by my father interesting so you'll be loved by him and you'll be loved by him

and you'll be loved by his father I would love to be loved by God and I will love him and manifest myself to him how powerful is that Judas not as scary it said to him Lord how is it that you will manifest yourself to us and not to the world

and Jesus answered and said to him if anyone loves me he will keep my word and my father will love him and we will come to him and make our home with him again

not complicated it is simple it is simple if it says do it do it if it says don't do it then you don't do it it is not hard it is not hard ladies do want to add to that before i go into the possible reason why she turned into salt no i want to hear that yeah let's hear it let's go let's do it okay so the symbol of judgment and desolation in the ancient world which i find this super interesting was some salt was sometimes used to destroy or curse land

after a city was conquered spreading salt made it barren so nothing could grow that was in judges 945 so salt was used to destroy and curse so she was cursed so salt would make sense

that she was turned into salt because salt is what they used as a curse so she was cursed interesting so it says so Lot's wife turning her into a pillar of salt symbolized complete ruin she shared in the destruction she turned to watch that's so intentional it is you know like that's word is so like intentional

you just read pillar of salt and not think anything of it but if you like dig and you study you're like whoa this thing is it means this well is deep it means something there was reasons for it yeah just like sonaman gomorrah the you know fire coming down you You know, it being like, did fire come down on that? Or did it, it burned? I always thought it was fire coming down. I thought it was fire coming down too. Look that up and see if fire came down.

Because I could swear it was. Me too. Like Bale and when. Elijah? Yes. It was just like that. And the God who answers my fire, he is God. I shouted nothing happened.

And Elijah, let your God know today, those servants. Oh, my goodness. And then the fire of the Lord fell and consumed the burnt sacrifice, the wood, the stones, the dust, and licked up the water that it was in the trenches. No, that was, that was Elijah. I'm talking about Sodom and Gomorrah. Yeah. Did fire come down on Sodom?

And Gomorrah. Yes. it did yes the biblical yes it did thank you yes yep i thought it did i'm like it's been a while since i read that story but pretty amazing like man like she like how could you even look back i'd be so scared like just keep running yeah just go yeah crazy oh my gosh my daughter goes like i'm not gonna I probably look back. Curiosity killed the cat. Curiosity killed the cat.

I wonder if he, I mean, the Lord can see the condition of our heart. So if you would have looked back out of curiosity, she was looking back longing for the things that she was leaving. So I, yeah, but. Two different heart postures. I don't think so. I'm going to tell you why. I don't think he cares about heart posture.

I think he cares about, do you do what he says to tell you. Did he tell you? Yeah. And you know why? I'm going to give you, remember when they were taking. the ark back to the Israelites to David and two of the people tried to the arc began to fall and they tried to save it their heart posture was good Vanessa you're right no you just clocked me and they fell down dead obedience yeah yeah I don't know I do agree with you though

I mean he does look at the heart thank God he looks at the heart but when he tells you Don't do that. I don't think he cares. I don't think he cares about the heart posture. No, you're absolutely right. And I'm only using that and sarcasm to her. It's her birthday. Otherwise, I would be vomiting right now.

And she knows this. But it is her birthday, so we will help her out. Okay, let's do sponsors really quick. And then we're going to answer one more question because I like this question. Real Estate Appraisal Associates of Southwest Florida, Inc. is owned by Laura Keller, and they've been in business since 2005.

They provide the most accurate certified home appraisal service in Southwest Florida, and they have upfront pricing with no hidden fees. No waiting for a couple weeks for your appraisal. They will have it done in two to four days. Why do you need an appraisal? There are many reasons to get one. First, when you sell your home, it removes any concern that you priced it too low to eliminate paying high estate taxes on a home you inherited

and to make sure that you are not paying too much in property taxes because of an inaccurate home valuation. Lastly, so that when you list your home, it's not priced too high and sits on the market for months or longer. Real estate appraisal associates of Southwest Florida are highly trusted and valued, and they have done over 10,000 appraisals. They are locally owned and operated for over 30 years. They are licensed state certified appraiser and are an expert team.

Their appraisals have 100% money-back guarantee and they can provide residential real estate appraisals in the following counties. Charlotte, Sarasota, Manatee, DeSoto, Hillsborough, Pinellas, and Lee. And if you give them a call and tell them that you've heard about them from the whole potline, you will receive a $50 discount. Give them a call at 941-743-3-3-3-700. Hansen's automotive services has been in business since 2017, with 20 years experience, and they do everything from oil changes to tires to AC work to engine repair and replacement.

They are not just motivated to do their best. They are automotivated, and their business lives by Proverbs 16.3, which is commit to the Lord, whatever you do, and he will establish your plans. The phone number for them is 941-4603962. And again, 941-4-603962. There we go. bless now this question is just right on time it won't take that long or it might but i think it falls in line seriously this question falls so in line with what's going on right now

in the world not like politically speaking just this question i've noticed a growing trend among Christians, including myself, to want to make an impact, in quotes, build a platform, or gain followers in the name of sharing faith. While I genuinely want to point people to Jesus, sometimes I catch myself caring more about numbers and likes than about spending real time with God. Ouch. That's not good, but God bless you for being honest. holy mackerel you're a rarity it's starting to make me wonder if i'm chasing influence instead of

intimacy with him is there a danger in trying to be seen for doing good things even when my intention started out pure and how can i tell when i've crossed that line listen sweetie guy or girl i don't know who you are but i'm going to tell you this is the biggest problem with people that are in leadership in a church it's not just people that are doing um to or Instagram or whatever. Yes, I agree. A lot of these people have good motives when they get into it, and then it becomes a popularity contest for them.

Pastors, people who lead different ministries, whether it be Bible studies, things like that, this is a constant thing that people in ministry should put themselves in check about all the time. Because it ain't just the people, it's anybody who's trying to influence anybody. a lot of times people get full of themselves is that not correct yeah that's the biggest problem with with people in leadership pastors that build a big platform for themselves and it's only them

it's very top heavy it's very top heavy and it's because they want to be the only one that's influencing that has some kind of power over people or i would i want to say popular but that's not the right word I'm looking for. They're the one. They're the one. They're the answer. They're the Savior. They're the one that everybody should come to because they're the one that carries the power. Or maybe they don't even carry power. But they're the one that's the cool guy, which is, I think, in the modern church, more pastors. Like, I don't know about you, but I have never seen, like, these people probably were the most unpopular people in high school.

And now all they want to do is be so popular because they're trying to live their best life now versus, like, in high school, if people would have known them, and they would have been like, I've seen the most geekiest, weirdest looking, like, I'm like, how are people following these people? Does that mean? And I'm not talking, like, I'm not saying, like, I'm not just talking about outer appearance. I'm talking about, I mean, I don't know if it's cold to be the geekiest looking thing on the face of the earth. Like that Seattle pastor out there. Oh, Russell? No, yeah. No.

I'm not going to talk about that. I got my own opinion. But no, I'm talking about. Oh, Judah Smith. Like, holy crap. Like, could you look more like a nerd? try and look like they're trying to look like nerds yeah the glasses yeah the whole thing the whole attire like it's like nerd is in which I'm okay with but to a certain extent

if you're being mean and you're being cruel but these people are trying to like be cruel I mean cool like this do you know what I'm saying I don't know how they I just I like I just sit they're trying to be corky yeah and they all look alike they all sound alike they all wear the same glasses they all the way they all wear the same kind of cut jeans or pair pants the same the jackets like jean i don't know like it's like they must send out a note through the associated related churches this is the attire this is the trend this year we're all gonna cut our hair and wear it really big on one side and shaved on the other do you know what i'm talking about i do everybody was doing that

I do. Like, can we not be original? Can we not, like, be ourselves? You be you. If God didn't make a fingerprint the same, I don't really think he wants everybody trying to look alike either. Yeah. Same.

Yeah. Totally agree. I just, you need to know that this is something, if you're going to do this, you need to know that forever, you're going to need to be making sure that you're doing a self-evaluation on yourself. Am I doing this for influence or am I doing this because of my intimacy with God? And trying to share the gospel with the purest of motives so that I win the lost and disciple believers.

Because at the end of the day, people like praising you, saying all these wonderful things about you, you need to understand every single time that happens, that's one thing that you don't get in heaven. Oh, yeah. I'd rather get my reward there. Yeah. I mean, I don't misunderstand. If you've come up to me and said, like, what I said at a service

or what I preached or whatever, it meant a lot to you. I don't mean any disrespect. I did appreciate that. And I was sincere about that. But I'm just saying to you is if that's what you're looking for and you're hoping people say that to you or man you can sing or man you the way you play those drums or whatever i love watching you when you do this you know just know if that's how you make yourself feel good if that's where you get yourself esteem from you're in big trouble

and everything you're gaining here on earth instead of in heaven i'd rather have my reward in heaven that's the verse i got yeah true yeah matthew 6th one take heed that you do not do your charitable deeds before men to be seen by them otherwise you will have no reward from your father in heaven and it tells you don't let your your right hand know what your left hand is doing either yeah my mom always said if somebody like let us go or if i let them go and they didn't say like thanks i was like yeah no problem go ahead and she's like now you didn't get your reward in heaven good job tracy that's what i think every time i'm like oh they didn't okay thank you don't say thank you because i want that reward i got to catch up for all the time

I got annoyed for people not saying thank you. It doesn't matter. Like, and what happens is, is we end up wanting the accolades. Okay. But if you're on social media and you're doing things right, you're probably going to be lambasted more than you're going to be appreciated. True. If you're preaching the true gospel.

True. You're not going to be like having to keep things in check because you're going to have to be like, making sure that you can endure, withstand. That's the truth. That is the truth. It's when people are saying all good things about you that you need to really sit there and go, hmm, am I doing this right?

Yeah. John 1243 says, For they love human praise more than the praise of God. Make sure you keep that in check. Galatians 110 says, obviously I'm not trying to win the approval of people, but of God if pleasing people were my goal, I would not be Christ's servant.

You got to tell you the tough things. You got to do the right things. And a lot of times, that's not going to win you friends. That's going to gain enemies for you. And I don't mean that they're going to like, they're going to, when I say enemies, they're not going to like what you say.

You're not going to be popular. And you will be a salmon swimming upstream. If everybody is applauding you, you're doing something wrong. That's the God's honest truth. So you won't be really worrying about the praise of man. Yeah. It's going to be like, Lord, did you really call me to this?

If you called me to this, then I can do it. But if you didn't call it to call me to do it, I'm fine with that. Yeah. It's unfortunate that we are seeing a lot of, like, big pastors from, like, mega-turches, like one that I'm thinking about just recently, Robert Morris, you know, like when you, when you have such a big platform and you crave the attention or whatever it is, like you start to compromise. Yeah, but he compromised when he was 20, 2021, when he was just entering in ministry, he did that when he was 20 and 21 years of age. And then he didn't, was not honest about it up

until now. Oh, I didn't know the whole story. Yes, not good. Wow. She was, I believe, 12. 12, and he was 20, 21, and it went on for about six years, six or seven years. A long time. A long time. And every time he went to visit it right around Christmas time, they did not stay in this house. They were friends of these people, and they would go and minister at their church, if I remember correctly. Yeah, that sounds right. And it's through those experiences. that this happened and then this young woman kept trying to bring it before people to make him be held accountable and they shloffed it off so they're just as bad as he is they would shuff it off they were trying like not make him be accountable because what happens is is we got

momentum going we got momentum going like yeah who cares about the momentum if wrong has been done and accountability needs to be be made you know what I'm saying yeah you can't lie about those things you just can't you cannot lie like he like yeah it's a i mean it just you it you lack the fear of the lord i think i'll be honest with you i saw messages where he alluded to his bad behavior but he made it sound like it was with a woman not a girl yeah a young lady exactly so a part of him really did i think a part of him really did want to be honest to a certain agree be honest about it but it would cost him too much cost him everything and jail which is where he's going now but um and i on all honesty i'm not saying that i agree with what he did

i'm not saying that like i mean he got a slap on the wrist in comparison to what most people get for this okay that's the truth um but a part of me does think and now you can say you're you're nuts and i might be i don't know my maybe my faith in people is is not it's too naive but part of me does think he probably thought if if i confess to this how many lives will this affect spiritually speaking and potentially and this is wrong because they were worshiping man. But I do believe he might have thought how many lives might walk away from the Lord because there was and there is because people do worship man. They don't worship God. And are they really saved? I do believe there are people who get caught up in

admiring somebody and they shift to who they really should be number one in their life, but they still think that they really do love the Lord and they do live an obedient lifestyle. And they are trying to, to whatever degree, they haven't deceived themselves, trying to live out a Christian lifestyle. But things like this, I've seen it. I've been a part of churches, two churches where the men were found in adulterous relationships. His wasn't, well, his wasn't adulterous, but it was also molestation. And it destroyed, people walked away from God. I don't know if you guys have ever seen it, but three churches I've gone to, three of them,

and I ain't gone to that many, three of them. Two senior pastors have affairs, and then the youth pastor has affairs. Yikes. And it destroys Christians. So I do probably think he was looking out for himself, but there was probably a part of him that knew how this would have. his congregation as well as so many people and that's a tough thing like I know but like for me I don't like I couldn't live in it right like I guess you just get hard into it but like it would be so hard for me to live knowing that it could come out at any moment like that would haunt me and I would just rather

deal with the consequence of it and just put it out and then whatever happens happens but to like have to go to bed every night knowing that like what if somebody knows tomorrow is it yeah like what if I walk in and you look at people. Yeah, you look at people. You're like, do you know? Like, do you know? Right. Right. Like I, I can't imagine. Yeah. You're like, oh, gosh, do you know? Or like an email comes through. And, and they're like, hey, somebody said something about and you're like, is it that? Like, to have to live like that? I never even thought about that. Oh, no. Thank you. Holy crap. Yeah. That would make my heartbeat beating. All the time. Right. Because you're living a lie. Oh, I just couldn't. I couldn't do it. So, yeah. But I think, but I do think over. time when you're not getting caught and another year goes and you don't get caught another year.

So you're kind of like, but it's like that one thing, that one email that comes and says something and you read it wrong. Or what if you're like reading your Bible and it says everything done in dark will come into light? And you're like, oh boy. That would haunt me. It would because I'm like, I believe the Bible. Yeah, right.

Yeah, but I think a lot of these, a lot of times these guys aren't even preaching. They're copying and pasting these messages off of the internet. they're not even writing them I think for a season he was too because he wrote the book about the Unforgotten God about the Holy Spirit because he didn't know about the Holy Spirit he grew up Baptist and he wrote a whole book about it Really?

Yeah I've been following him for a long time It sounds like it So I was really disappointing when I heard One of my best friends went to his church for a while Oh man So she was really sad Because yeah she has a whole past too

So to know somebody she like really looked up to did here's the thing and just so you know now what I will tell you is this because people's hearts are probably pounding out of their chest

right now I'm just joking I'm just joking in some ways it is and in some way she's not wrong but in other ways listen your your sin is forgiven

as far as the east is to the west so like don't let your past because a lot of people struggle with this they struggle with their paths coming being exposed or coming out. Listen, there's a lot of, I mean, for me, I'll be honest, there's a lot of stuff about my past. I don't want people to know my kids. Like I said, I said in the Beloved Conference or at, um, no, when I went down to Fort Myers, there's stuff.

My kids don't know. My kids know, but they, they don't know everything. My husband knows everything. But I'm just saying, like, there's stuff that I don't want everybody to find out about. If they did, though, my life would not be over. I've been forgiven. it's none of it was illegal yeah if it's illegal your heart might should be pounding out of your chest yeah but just if you're like me like you don't want there's no for me I always say what's gained if if people know nothing I mean most people will be like you're not that person so right right whatever um but if nothing positive is gained from it there's then you don't need to really worry about it. Like as long as you've told the person that needs to know are persons that

need to know, then that's, but you don't need to worry about your past. Leave the past behind. It doesn't matter. It's gone. It's finished. You shouldn't let your heart beat a mile a minute over anything, especially if you're not that person anymore. And Jesus doesn't remember it, so you shouldn't remember it. Because a lot of people can't forgive their past. That's not what we're talking about here. No. That is a whole different thing. Correct. But I can, I know how people are. That's good. And they will sit there and think, well, holy crap. Right. This isn't the same. This is not the same guys. Not even close. No. No. So you, um, what's it? Like Tom always goes, nuance. Yeah. Well, this is like, this is like sin and evil. You know what I mean? Like you were a

sinner. He did sinful things because you weren't following Christ. Yeah. This is evil. and he was in a place of leadership and like that that's where it like twists it just makes it yeah and you need to know too like everybody i mean if you asked a poll in this room pretty much everybody in this room would say i don't want everybody to know about my past right so you're no different right it's your business you don't need to tell everybody correct and not everybody needs to know correct like that's and that's okay because again you've been forgiven right So don't worry about that stuff. You're no different than everybody else.

That's another thing. I always try and make clear it with people because a lot of people don't, I'm the only one like this. No, you're not. No, you're not. No. Almost everybody is like this. I know.

And that's okay. I mean, that's actually a good thing. I think we glorify. And one of the reasons why I'm big proponent on not sharing my past and this is the God's honest truth. One of the reasons I don't is because people glorify their past. instead of glorifying where they're at or where they've come where they are at now versus where they were like there's nothing good from my past but there's great things from where i'm at now

and those are the things that you should be talking about where what god has done for you not like what satan did to you right true right or he allowed you to or you allowed him to do in you right there's no glory in that glory in where you're you're going and where you're at now that's the true testimony, not the past testimony. So many people just love because there's drama. There's a whole lot of yuckiness. So that's like tantalizing, but it's not good. And so for me, I don't, I don't like to talk, I mean, I like to talk about my past if it's funny. Like if I did something bad and it's funny, okay, let's laugh at that. But then some things are just not funny. And there's no glory in them so don't glorify it yeah that's it people another word anybody else got something

it isn't it true though in 10 minutes later isn't it true though people are getting on TikTok and they're getting on these different platforms so that they can make a name for themselves so they do feel good about themselves right so they do feel like they have some value it's very dangerous. It is. It is because when it all gets taken away, then what? Right. Because it can. TikTok can go black, social media, the grid could go down, and then what? What have you built? What if you built? What if it all disappears? You're no longer an Instagram model. So it's really more, it's really more effective for you to get into one-on-one personal relationship and be in powerfully invest in the one-on-one. Right. It's not as

it's not as glorifying potentially. Potentially. But it's way more satisfying. It is. And it's more long lasting. Yeah. No one can take away from you. They can only walk away from you.

A person can walk away from you, but nobody can take away from you if you're, if you're doing it a certain way. So that's it, people. We're going to see you next week or Sunday. Yeah. Sunday. Yeah. Sunday Sunday, Sunday. See you then.

Bye. Real talk. Real talk. Real talk. Real talk.